Seeking old space book
 

Hello All,

I have been trying to find an old space book. If I just had its title, I'm pretty sure I could find a copy of it on one of the used book sites. I will describe it here:

It was a hardcover book, about 8" X 12" in size and a bit over 1/2" thick, dating from the late 1950s or very early 1960s. Its covers were laminated with clear plastic. It was one of a set of children's encyclopedia books, and this one contained (in addition to a section on sports, including the ancient basketball-like Aztec [or Mayan?] game) a color painting-illustrated section on rocketry and space flight, including the Vanguard and Sputnik I & II satellites and the von Braun-type "wheel" space stations. A collection of somewhat inaccurate (because they were prepared before the launches) but beautiful paintings illustrated the Vanguard launch sequence and how the satellite's orbit created a "basket-weave" pattern around the Earth. A Baker-Nunn Project Moonwatch telescope, a group of Moonwatch volunteers with their little 'scopes, and a satellite radio communications trailer were also illustrated via color paintings. A brief section on lunar exploration showed the von Braun-type moonship, and two of a variation of that design approaching Mars. Also:

The logo of the publisher, on the orange "end pages" of the book, consisted of an ancient Greek-type hand-held torch and the now-common stylized illustration of an atom (a nucleus with three electron orbits around it, at equal angles to each other). The front cover showed a juxtaposition of several things, including a golden yellow planet Saturn above a cowboy (who was leaning forward twirling a lasso) riding a galloping horse. Now:

Does this book ring a bell with anyone here? Many thanks to anyone who can help! This book is of personal significance to me because it was the very first book on rocketry and spaceflight that I ever saw (at age *two*--it is one of my earliest memories), and it "lit the fire" of interest in--and passion about--these subjects that burns in me to this day.

Sounds somewhat similar to a series of books I remember called Golden Book of Knowledge. Each of them featured great illustrations and topics.

I have some of those books (which I also like a lot, even though they, too, are "dated" today), but their logo is different--it's a tree with a scroll in front of its trunk that reads, "The Golden Library of Knowledge." (They're not an encyclopedia set, like the one whose volume I'm seeking, but instead are a collection of "stand-alone" books in a series--the space/astronomy-related ones are "Space Flight: The Coming Exploration of the Universe," "The Moon: Our Neighboring World," and "Planets" [I can't make out its white-lettered subtitle against the light-colored background of Jupiter, as it's shown on the back cover of my edition of "Space Flight"], and there is also a double edition--in a smaller book size--that contains both "Planets" and "Space Flight" in a single book.) Also:

The book that I'm looking for is part of an alphabetized (I'm almost 100% certain) encyclopedia set, as I recall that there were other volumes in the set that we had. In addition to the sections on space flight (in the front of it) and sports (in the back of it, which suggests that that volume was "sp-something" in the alphabetized order), it also contains a short dictionary section (between the "space flight" and "sports" sections, if memory serves). Its publisher's logo was a hand-held torch with a stylized atom image--I can see it in my mind, but the name of the publisher and the encyclopedia just won't come to me--which is frustrating, since I had that volume until I lost it when I moved to Alaska in 1997.

****! I thought the torch was a sure thing ! it was atree after all. My next best guess would be Colliers. Sorry I wasn't more help. Good luck with your endeavor.

That's sounds like a Giant Golden book encyclopedia.

No but while mousing around I found this gem:

http://www.target.com/p/model-rocke...rm=model+rocket

Vern Estes--modern artist extraordinaire...who'd 'a thunk it? :-) Imagine how rich we'd all be if we could sell all of our burned-in-half Solar Igniters for even *half* as much as that objet d'art sells for? :-)

Thank you. It wasn't by some "no-name" (little-known) publisher--it was published by one of the well-known ones, but I can't recall which one it was. (I also have the "Science Service Science Program" and "Vistas of Science" books, but they're small-format paperbacks that form a collection, rather than an alphabetized encyclopedia.)Maybe! I haven't searched under that specific term, but I'll try it. Thank you!

I remember the specific book you are talking about with your clues.
Cannot picture the author, publisher, or title either.
I'm positive my Elementary School in Fenton, Mi. had it when I was there in the 70's.
I remember reading through it, any other rocket/airplane/chemistry books they had at least 100 times each.
If my memory serves me correctly, that book was OLD when I was there from '75 to '81.

Just like me...I read every rocket/plane/science/racing/mechanic non-fiction book we had over and over while other kids were reading Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew.